Advice please!

[Newbie2]

First time posting. After some advice from you experts! My daughter qualified for Ribston ranked 604. She didn’t qualify for any other grammars. Is she in with a chance? Her other option was St Peters where her sister already goes. If we put Ribston first and she doesn’t get it, will this make her chance for getting St Peters less too?
Thanks in advance- it’s all so confusing!

[ToadMum]

First time posting. After some advice from you experts! My daughter qualified for Ribston ranked 604. She didn’t qualify for any other grammars. Is she in with a chance? Her other option was St Peters where her sister already goes. If we put Ribston first and she doesn’t get it, will this make her chance for getting St Peters less too?
Thanks in advance- it’s all so confusing!

Hi

Not in your area and as for your DD's chances for that particular school, given her ranking, I cannot help, I'm afraid. But the answer to your second question is universal: none of the schools know where you have ranked them. Each school ranks all its applicants. The response as to whether a place can be offered filters back to your home LA, which then allocates a place at at your highest ranked school which can offer one. If you want Ribston most of all, put it first. Then put the school that you would like, if you cannot have Ribston. And so on until all your 'slots' are filled, making sure that at least one is as certain a bet as possible. Your LA's website will explain this and will may well have some worked examples of how (and how not ) to complete your CAF.

[Brackenboo]

I think Ribston's PAN is higher this year, so she has a chance. I guess it partly depends on how many girls opt for Crypt. I would put it as your first choice if you prefer it to St Peters, as I'm assuming if you don't get Ribston you would automatically get St Peters based on sibling priority. So that way there is nothing to lose.

[Brackenboo]

I think Ribston's PAN is higher this year, so she has a chance. I guess it partly depends on how many girls opt for Crypt. I would put it as your first choice if you prefer it to St Peters, as I'm assuming if you don't get Ribston you would automatically get St Peters based on sibling priority. So that way there is nothing to lose.

[jearund]

First time posting. After some advice from you experts! My daughter qualified for Ribston ranked 604. She didn’t qualify for any other grammars. Is she in with a chance? Her other option was St Peters where her sister already goes. If we put Ribston first and she doesn’t get it, will this make her chance for getting St Peters less too?
Thanks in advance- it’s all so confusing!

Newbie2 - no, putting Ribston first won't affect her chances of getting St Peter's. In fact she'll be guaranteed a place at St Peter's (assuming that's a comp) if her sister's there - make sure you tick the sibling box on the CAF!
604 is unlikely to be high enough for Ribston but you lose nothing by trying so put it first and St Peter's second.

[mitasol]

The Gloucestershire Admissions document explains here
https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/medi ... rocess.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Page 4 onwards

Choose your preferred schools/academies
 You can apply for up to five schools/academies that you would prefer your child to attend.
 Place the schools/academies in your true preference order with 1 being the school you would most like your child to attend. We allocate schools using the equal preference system. Schools/academies are not informed where you put them on your list. Please see page 5 for further details
 Even if you want a place at your local or catchment school/academy or you already have another child in the school/academy you must still apply.
 Your catchment school/academy does not have to be one of your preferences however it is unlikely that a place will be available in the event that you do not receive a place at any of your preferred schools.
Please be aware that the number of children within a catchment area may be greater than the number of places available at the school.

It then goes on to explain the Equal Preference System

Equal Preference System Explained
Background to the system
Whether you’re applying for a primary or secondary school place for your child, it can be tough deciding which schools to list on your application form, let alone in which order you should rank them.
In the past, some schools and Local Authorities operated a ‘First Preference First’ system. Admissions Authorities could prioritise those who had listed a school as their first choice on their application form. In practice, this meant that a child who lived some distance from a school but had made it their first choice could be offered a place above a child who lived nearer but had listed it as their second choice.
The Schools Admission Code outlawed the ‘First Preference First’ system. Admission Authorities are now legally required to operate an ‘Equal Preference’ system. This means that places are offered purely on the strength of how well children fit the admissions criteria. Schools can’t favour children who listed the school as their first choice, nor rule out those who placed it lower down their list; in fact, they are not even told where they were ranked in your list of preferences.
The Equal Preference system was introduced to prevent Admission Authorities being able to give higher priority to children who listed a school as their first choice. This is particularly important where a school’s Admission Authority is the school itself – for example, foundation schools/academies, where the governing body controls admissions – as they are no longer able to select pupils based on where the parent/carer has placed the school as a preference.

What does this mean in practice?
 On the Common Application Form you will be asked to list your top 5 choices of schools/academies in order of preference.
 After the closing date, we will put your child’s name on the list for each of the schools you have listed. Their position on the list will depend on how well your child fits the school’s admission criteria – for example, they may be higher up a school’s list if you live very near to it.

 The Equal Preference system means that at this stage, the order in which you ranked the schools will not be taken into account. Your child will be put on the list for every school you have applied to.
 Each school has a Published Admission Number (PAN): the number of places it has to offer. We will mark up the names at the top of each school’s list, up to its PAN. This is known as the School List. Those children whose names fall outside the PAN will not be offered a place at this
school. You will have the opportunity to place your child’s name on a waiting list as part of the process for the second stage (for further guidance please see Step 7).
 If your child’s name appears on only one School List, your child will be offered a place at that school, regardless of where it ranked in your preferences as long as the child falls within the school’s PAN (see above)
 If your child is on more than one School List, we will then take into account the order in which you ranked the schools on your Common Application Form. Your child will be offered a place at the school that you ranked highest.
 If your child isn’t allocated a place at any of your preferred schools, we will allocate a place at the nearest school with a space available

.

[Newbie2]

Thanks everyone- that makes sense. I will go with Ribston first and St Peters second. Fingers crossed for Ribston!

[Phoenix-Mum]

I think Ribston's PAN is higher this year, so she has a chance. I guess it partly depends on how many girls opt for Crypt. I would put it as your first choice if you prefer it to St Peters, as I'm assuming if you don't get Ribston you would automatically get St Peters based on sibling priority. So that way there is nothing to lose.

Its not unfortunately - they took 150 this September, although the increase was planned for 2020 they increased a year early

[authormum]

Based on where they offered to last year, and with the same PAN, I’m sorry to say that ranking is likely to put you on waiting list/appeals.
If it’s the right school for her I think you should still go for it. But consider the impact on her on not knowing in March if that is the case. If you are allocated your 2nd choice (st Peter’s) then at least it would be a win win? Good luck whatever you decide.

[icantthinkofagoodone]

Do please check the admissions policy for St Peters. Some schools in Glos (Severn Vale) have the sibling link much further down the order - therefore offering to local children before siblings.